Mickey Ned O’Sullivan has stepped down as manager of the Limerick football team after five years in charge.
The Kerry legend and assistant Donie Buckley informed county board officials at a meeting on Thursday night that they no longer wished to remain in charge of the side.
O’Sullivan took over the Treaty County from Liam Kearns in October 2005 and led Limerick to narrow defeats in the last two Munster football finals, against Kerry this year and Cork in 2009. He also led them to a Division Four league title this year and speaking to the Irish Examiner, he described the job as “the most positive experience I have had in Gaelic football.â€
“After five years the time is right for a new voice,” he said.
“Myself and the management have been considering this for the past few weeks. I was on holidays and we met yesterday after I came back, before informing the county board. I then spoke to the players individually on the phone, and the few that I didn’t get through to, I will be talking to them today. They were disappointed to hear that we were moving on, as were the board officials.
“It was a joint decision made by myself and the rest of the management team. It was with great reluctance that we made the decision, as there was massive pressure from the board and players wanting us to stay on. But you can overstay your welcome and we felt we had reached the natural end. We’ve done everything we could to help Limerick football and we feel there’s a new voice needed now.
“The players were like family really and I will miss greatly working with them. They were the finest characters I have come across and working with them is the most positive experience I have had in Gaelic football.
“We had no conflict during our time in charge and got great support from the board and the players throughout that time. When you have all that, it is very difficult to move away from it. There is no point in having any regrets when you leave.
“We did everything we could and tried everything we could to win a Munster title, but it just wasn’t to be. That’s life. To me, it’s more about the journey than the destination.”
